A medium-size company was losing top talent to larger competitors that offered superior employee benefit packages. With insurance premiums skyrocketing and money tight, the beleaguered employer turned to Benemax, one of New England’s most innovative providers of customized benefit solutions, for help.

“We went right to work,” says David Cowles, co-founder and principal. “We combined a traditional, high-deductible insurance coverage with a thin layer of additional benefits, self-funded by the employer and customized to meet all of their benefit objectives. Net result: we reduced the company’s overall cost while increasing member benefits. This company is now paying about 20 percent less for their health benefits than they would pay for a comparable package purchased off-the-shelf.”

Typically, the Benemax System™ delivers double-digit savings without reducing employees’ benefits and usually without requiring employers to switch insurance carriers. Most clients save at least $1,000 a year per enrolled employee.

More than a broker, Benemax is a true benefit consultant, offering customized design and funding solutions tailored to the unique needs of each employer and its employees.

“Most companies begin with a benefit design and then invite carriers to bid based on that design, but not Benemax,” Cowles explains. “First, we identify the highest value product in an insurer’s portfolio and then we retrofit that contract to match the employer’s customized benefit design. We often begin with a high-deductible plan but we mitigate the impact of that deductible by adding an additional layer of benefits. In the long run, everyone gets better coverage, for less!”

Benemax provides comprehensive online support through its Virtual Benefit Manager®, which allows members to manage benefits and access information 24/7. Benemax also offers a variety of wellness tools and incentives, including a free online second opinion, courtesy of Harvard Medical School and the Center for Connected Health (formerly known as Partners TeleMedicine). Cowles believes that when the economy turns around, employers that have slashed benefits during the recession will suffer as their employees migrate to companies that maintain attractive benefit packages. Benemax, he says, can help companies rebuild their plans, without adding cost.

“Since 1985, we have saved millions of dollars for countless companies, enabling them to keep their people employed during down times and then aggressively attract top talent once markets turn around.”